Smart Bets: Ron Rash and Local Matters Book Club

Mountain Xpress announces the Local Matters Book Club, in partnership with Malaprop's Bookstore & Café. The readers' group will focus on works of fiction written by local and regional authors and/or with Western North Carolina themes. Each book selection will be by an author scheduled to read at Malaprop's — such as our first book, Nothing Gold Can Stay, a collection of short stories by Ron Rash. (The book will be released on Tuesday, Feb. 19; Rash will appear at the bookstore on Sunday, Feb. 24 in a ticketed event.)

Xpress writer and book reviewer Alli Marshall moderates the Local Matters Book Club, which will meet in the Malaprop's cafe semi-bi-monthly. The first meeting is on Monday, March 4 at 7 p.m., to discuss Nothing Gold Can Stay. Anyone interested in joining the Local Matters Book Club should e-mail Marshall at amarshall@mountainx.com. Space is limited. http://malaprops.com.